4 BEST HALLOWEEN BOOKS FOR KIDS
Halloween is not just a festival. It’s an emotion. An emotion that’s made up of joy, thrill, suspense, fear and most importantly, togetherness.
It’s that season where everyone gets together to celebrate all these emotions. To make it more eventful, read these awesome Halloween books with kids.
These books are ideal for toddlers and preschoolers. For each book, I have reviewed and shared why I think that the kids will love them.
Fine more book reviews by various themes :
Recommended Halloween Books for Kids
1. “ROOM ON THE BROOM” BY JULIA DONALDSON
Age Group : 3-5 years
Key themes
- Friendship
- Gratitude
- Your own individuality
Why kids will love it
The repetitive pattern of the witch needing help will engage little ones. They will love to make guesses as to who will help her next or what will be lost next.
Kids will also enjoy the rhythmic language with rhyming words at the end of lines.
How it encourages interactive reading
This story is action-packed, so you can ask kids what happens next.
Talk about the descriptive words used by the writer.
Ex: How he describes the witch, the dragon etc.
2. “How to make friends with a ghost” by Rebecca Green
Age Group : 3-8 years
Summary
- This heartwarming story gives new meaning to the so-called spooky ghosts that we are scared of.
- This book gives detailed guidelines on how to make friends, take care of a ghost and grow up together with a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
Why kids will love it
The story is about feeding and caring for a ghost. So it will be highly entertaining for children as it’s something they may have never thought about. They love to know about ghosts!
Images, lists, and recipes given are so funky that kids will come across so many new ideas for their next Halloween.
How it promotes friendship and acceptance
The little girl in the story is incredibly sweet and caring. Her attempt to make the ghost feel cosy and comfortable makes kids understand that she has no judgement on her side.
She accepts the difference between them and respects the ghost’s need to make himself at home.
This teaches a valuable lesson to our children. Accepting differences in friendships and doing your best to make the other comfortable is something every child needs to learn.
3. “The Hallo-wiener” by Dav Pilkey
Age Group : 3-7 years
Summary
This inspiring story is about a dog who gets mocked for his short and long body.
Other dogs used to laugh at him. No matter how hard it was to bear up this bullying, Oscar remains his best self throughout the story, helping his friends when they needed it most.
All his friends realise at the end that Oscar’s unique shape is what makes him special and begin to love him for who he is.
Handling bullying and celebrating uniqueness are two important themes in this story.
Self-acceptance is another theme that shows us how important it is to love yourself unconditionally.
Why kids will love it
All the Halloween events will make the kids enjoy it.
Kids may also find this story relatable in so many ways. There can be many kids who worry about their looks, their background or some who mock others differences.
Also, they will love it for the heroic act of Oscar and the love and loyalty he shows for his friends despite the fact that his friends kept hurting his feelings.
Oscar’s forgiveness finally makes him a true hero.
4. “The little old lady who was not afraid of anything” by Linda Williams
Age Group : 3-6 years
Summary
This is a story about an old lady coming across spooky and spine-chilling objects following her, making scary sounds on her way home from the woods.
As the title says, she was really brave. She was not shaken by CLOMPING shoes, WIGGLING pants, SHAKING shirts, CLAPPING gloves, NODDING hat which had mysteriously come alive and been following her all the way home.
Well, however brave she was, she just couldn’t help being shattered when a pumpkin head suddenly screamed, ‘BOO!”
She ran home, locked the door, sat down and took some breaths.
We see she’s doing all the right things. This smart old lady later overcomes all her fears and makes use of everything that tried to scare her.
Do you want to know how? This book will tell you how.
Key themes
Overcoming your fears can open up many opportunities
She was brave. She faced many scary incidents with a brave heart. But the pumpkin head really got her. That doesn’t mean she was a coward. She was still super awesome for doing what she did for her safety.
But the best comes last. She did not just overcome her fears. She redirected all her fears towards a whole new purpose.
Yes, She kind of “repurposed” her fears.
The idea of making a scarecrow out of those spookies gave them a whole new meaning.
Why kids will love it?
The language is rhythmic thanks to the onomatopoeic words used by the writer, such as “wiggle wiggle, clap clap, clomp clomp”. Kids will love how real those movements feel.
Also a little twist at the end will surprise everyone!
Tips for Maximising the Reading Experience
Engaging in discussions and reflections
As you read books to your kids always talk about characters, incidents and let your kids talk about them too.
Ask them how vampires dress, what monsters eat, about witchcraft and so on.
Talk about their beliefs and you do not need to correct them at any point.
That’s the beauty of it. There aren’t any facts about Halloween. Everyone is free to imagine.
Incorporating related activities and crafts
It’s not just about reading a story. Halloween is so much more than that.
Decorating your backyard, house, making your own Halloween costume, getting together with friends, trick o’treat, Halloween food, sharing treats and so on.
These are the activities that make Halloween a wholesome experience for young ones.
Creating a cosy reading environment
It’s best if you can arrange a reading corner in your kids room with soft pillows and a cosy mat to sit on.
Creating a calming environment with noise control and a nicely arranged reading spot is going to keep your kids engaged and entertained for a long time.
Read more about the benefits of reading for kids
Encouraging re-reads and book exploration
Rereading their favourite books is one way of keeping them interested for a long time.
No matter how many times it happens, kids will love and learn more and more every time they read their favourite book.
Make a list of popular Halloween books and find them in the nearest library. Buy them if you think that your kids will love them.
Benefits of Halloween Books for Kids
Sparking imagination and creativity
Reading about witches, monsters, bats, spiders or vampires is going to spark children’s imaginations about things they don’t see in real life.
They start enjoying imaginary creatures or situations that create beautiful memories and promote creative thinking.
And making Halloween decorations, cards and treats will give them so many opportunities to express themselves.
Introducing Halloween traditions and themes
Halloween books are a great way to learn about Halloween traditions and themes.
Children all over the world read about Halloween, imagine or create their Halloween decorations, costumes, treats and be a part of this in so many ways.
Developing language and vocabulary skills
Halloween decorations, costumes, treats or trick or treat are activities that are fun when done in groups. Halloween is a special event that brings the community together.
Apart from building up their language and vocabulary skills, these activities can improve their independence and social skills.
Ex: Children get to talk to their neighbours when they trick or treat.
They get to meet and talk to people they have never met before.
It builds their confidence.
Teaching important life lessons through storytelling
Halloween books for kids are not just for fun and excitement. There are so many life lessons that come with these humorous and perhaps thrilling stories.
Usually, the life lessons in these stories include celebrating uniqueness, acceptance, self-love and bravery.
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